Length6h 55m
About this audiobook
A journey through the glorious Italian city's scenery, history, and culture, from the
New York Times–bestselling author of
Venice Observed and
The Group.
Mary McCarthy's classic celebrates the Italian city often looked upon as the provincial sister to the better-dressed, more "feminine" Venice.
To McCarthy, Florence, or
Firenze, is a place of ageless enchantment, from the Duomo to the fortressed palaces. The Renaissance began here; art and architecture flourished. From its roots as a center of medieval trade to its transformation into one of the world's wealthiest cities, McCarthy charts Florence's rich and turbulent history. She introduces a cast of towering real-life characters. Through her probing writer's lens, the poetry of Dante and the magnificent artistry of Raphael and Botticelli come vibrantly alive. Along this illuminating journey, McCarthy offers fascinating bits of trivia: There are no ruins in Florence because the Florentines aren't sentimental about their past; America took its name from a Florentine traveler named Amerigo Vespucci.
From Michelangelo to the Medicis to the story behind a statue's missing head,
The Stones of Florence is Mary McCarthy's hymn to this unique city.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author's estate.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.9 (1.1K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon
GenreHistory, Travel
Length6 hrs 55 mins
Narrated byDiana Gardiner
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateMay 5, 2026
LanguageEnglish
More from Mary McCarthy
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
Ghosts of HiroshimaCharles Pellegrino8h 59m4.5 (877)$23
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m4.6 (3.2K)$18 · $0.00
Fall and RiseMitchell Zuckoff17h 23m4.6 (9.8K)$40 · $0.00
The SurvivorJosef Lewkowicz, Michael Calvin9h 22m4.6 (2.5K)$29 · $0.00
Always FaithfulThomas Schueman, Zainullah Zaki12h 12m4.6 (977)$29 · $0.00
The State of Society in France Before the Revolution of 1789 (Annotated)Alexis de Tocqueville17h 25m4.6 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
All the Gallant MenDonald Stratton, Ken Gire5h 55m4.6 (11.8K)$24 · $0.00
Medgar and MyrlieJoy-Ann Reid10h 52m4.5 (27.8K)$29 · $0.00
The History of the Peloponnesian War (Annotated)Thucydides24h 3m4.6 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Where the Birds Never SingJack Sacco10h 31m4.6 (3.8K)$29 · $0.00
Serviceman J: The Untold Story of an NZSAS SoldierJamie Pennell5h 51m4.6 (452)$24 · $0.00
A Cook's TourAnthony Bourdain5h 50m4.2 (38.2K)$28 · $0.00
The Home of the Blizzard (Annotated)Sir Douglas Mawson19h 2m4.3 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
Local WondersTed Kooser6h 21m4.4 (978)$14 · $0.00
Over the Edge of the WorldLaurence Bergreen6h 14m4.3 (23.2K)$24 · $0.00
What Really Happened In WuhanSharri Markson16h 28m4.3 (4.8K)$40 · $0.00
American RambleNeil King10h 58m4.3 (2.8K)$29 · $0.00
In The Footsteps Of RamaVikrant Pande, Neelesh Kulkarni9h 45m4.3 (778)$16 · $0.00
Never Leave the Dogs BehindBrianna Madia5h 37m4.2 (7.8K)$24 · $0.00
Touch the Top of the WorldErik Weihenmayer11h 18m4.3 (2.9K)$20 · $0.00
Mud, Sweat, and TearsBear Grylls9h 25m4.2 (20K)$29 · $0.00
NorthboundNaomi Arnold7h 21m4.3 (669)$24 · $0.00
China RoadRob Gifford10h 35m4.2 (4.7K)$20 · $0.00
Love, AfricaJeffrey Gettleman11h 55m4.2 (3.1K)$29 · $0.00
Pasta, Pane, VinoMatt Goulding9h 9m4.3 (985)$29 · $0.00
StraysBritt Collins6h 44m4.2 (1.4K)$20 · $0.00
Seven League BootsRichard Halliburton11h 53m4.3 (303)$2 · $0.00
Tiny MoonsNina Mingya Powles2h 36m4.2 (3.3K)$16 · $0.00
Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog SledHudson Stuck8h 7m4.3 (258)$1.99 · $0.00
WoodcraftNessmuk3h 29m4.2 (1.6K)$6 · $0.00
Hidden MountainsMichael Wejchert6h 48m4.2 (1.9K)$24 · $0.00
You may also like
The American Language: Development of English in the United StatesH. L. Mencken18h 31m4.3 (597)$2 · $0.00
The Golden PassportDuff McDonald21h 37m3.8 (1.4K)$46 · $0.00
A Room of One's Own + Three Guineas (2 extended essays) (Annotated)Virginia Woolf13h 15m4.2 (5.4K)$2 · $0.00
Dickens by Chesterton (Annotated)G. K. Chesterton16h 53m4.2 (2.5K)$2 · $0.00
A Torch Kept LitWilliam F. Buckley Jr.9h 28m4.3 (1.3K)$20 · $0.00
Knowing Christ TodayDallas Willard7h 38m4.3 (1.4K)$26 · $0.00
The Wealth of NationsAdam Smith41h 45m4.1 (128.8K)$2.30
Essays of Michel de Montaigne — CompleteMichel de Montaigne53h 20m4.4 (28.8K)Free
Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak CatchersTom Wolfe4h 6m3.9 (4.4K)$13
Gothic ArtVictoria Charles, Klaus Carl3h 55m4.0 (33)$15 · $0.00
Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of WealthAnne Robert Jacques Turgot2h 38m3.7 (48)$12 · $0.00
A summer on the borders of the Caribbean seaJ. Dennis Harris3h 9m$1 · $0.00
Business-Englisch lernen Audio - Besser Business-Englisch lernen!Unknown Author1h 13m$19
Pen Portraits and ReviewsBernard Shaw12h 16m$2 · $0.00
What I Saw in AmericaG. K. Chesterton7h 10m3.8 (386)$2 · $0.00
History of the Phoenician CivilizationGeorge Rawlinson17h 33m3.6 (89)$1 · $0.00
Science in an Age of UnreasonJohn Staddon7h 2m3.8 (58)$17 · $0.00
Peter Paul RubensMaria Varshavskaya, Xenia Yegorova3h 10m3.6 (18)$15 · $0.00
Introduction to Art: Design, Context, and MeaningPamela Sachant, Peggy Blood, Jeffery LeMieux, Rita Tekippe12h 27m4.0 (150)$1 · $0.00
Alexander PopeLeslie Stephen5h 48m3.7 (67)$2 · $0.00